Vespertilio 16: 211–239, 2012 ISSN 1213-6123 Bat fauna of Tunisia: Review of records and new records, morphometrics and echolocation data Sebastien J. PUECHMAILLE1,2, Wassim M. HIZEM3, Benjamin ALLEGRINI4 & Awatef ABIADH5 1 Sensory Ecology Group, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany 2 School of Biology & Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin, Ireland 3 Tunis Superior Institute for Biological Applied Sciences, Tunisia 4 Naturalia environnement, Gallargues-le-Montueux, France 5 Association des Amis de Belvédère, B.P. 349-1002, Tunis Belvédère, Tunisia Abstract. New records of 18 bat species from Tunisia are reported; these include Rhinolophus ferrum- equinum, R. hipposideros, R. euryale, R. mehelyi, R. blasii, Asellia tridens, Rhinopoma cystops, Tadarida teniotis, Miniopterus schreibersii, Eptesicus isabellinus, Pipistrellus cf. kuhlii, P. cf. pipistrellus, Otonycteris hemprichii, Plecotus gaisleri, Hypsugo cf. savii, Myotis capaccinii, M. emarginatus, and M. punicus. For at least five species, our records represent the first records in nearly last 30 years and we report for the first time on the possible presence of Nyctalus leisleri in northern Tunisia. We provide a critical review of records of Rhinolophus euryale and R. mehelyi from Tunisia, many of which were incorrect. We also propose a new synonymy for Rhinolophus (Euryalus) barbarus Andersen et Matschie, 1904 and R. (E.) meridionalis Andersen et Matschie, 1904. Tunisia, Chiroptera, Maghreb, North Africa, taxonomy, echolocation Introduction The bat fauna of Tunisia remains relatively poorly known among North African faunas with only 19 species recorded to date in the country (Dalhoumi et al. 2011). Among these 19 species, two are only known from one locality (Hypsugo savii and Pipistrellus rueppellii; Vaughan et al. 1977, ACR 2011) while no less than seven others have been recorded at less than six sites (Myotis cap- paccinii, M. emarginatus, Otonycteris hemprichii, Pipistrellus pipistrellus, Rhinolophus blasii, Tadarida teniotis and Rhinopoma cystops). Apart from Myotis punicus and Pipistrellus kuhlii, which have been reported in more than 40 localities, the distribution of other species is globally poorly known. Furthermore, species identification problems, especially between the three medium- -sized Rhinolophus species (R. blasii, R. euryale and R. mehelyi) have obscured the distribution of these species in Tunisia (cf. Aellen & Strinati 1970, Cockrum 1976a, b) and most probably across the Maghreb (e.g. Kowalski & Rzebik-Kowalska 1991, Benda et al. 2004c). Additionally, many of these records are based on single or a few individuals as opposed to colonies, of which very few are known for any species. Studies on bats of Tunisia started in the 19th century with Hartmann (1868) who recorded the presence of Rhinolophus ferrumequinum and Miniopterus schreibersii. Then Fitzinger (1870) reported a third species Vesperugo marginatus (= Pipistrellus kuhlii), before Dobson (1878) added Vespertilio murinus (= Myotis punicus) from Tunis. Phyllorhina Tridens (= Asellia tridens) and Vesperugo isabellinus (= Eptesicus isabellinus) were then added to the list of bats of Tunisia by Lataste (1887), while Plecotus auritus (= P. gaisleri) was first reported by Anderson (1892). Three new species (Rhinolophus (Euryalus) barbarus [= R. euryale], Rhinolophus hipposideros and 211 Rhinopoma microphyllum [= R. cystops]) were identified from Tunisia by Andersen & Matschie (1904), Gadeau de Kerville (1908) and Olivier (1909). It was only between the 1950s and 70s that additional seven species were discovered (Deleuil & Labbé 1955, Aellen & Strinati 1969, 1970, Cockrum 1976a, Vaughan et al. 1977, Kock & Nader 1984). Only Pipistrellus rueppellii has been recently added to the list of species of Tunisia based on examination of a specimen held at the Zoologisches Forschungsinstitut und Museum Alexander Koenig in Bonn (ZFMK) (ACR 2011). In the present contribution, we report on new records of bats from Tunisia (including maternity colonies) made mainly during four expeditions in May 2008, June 2009, May 2011 and July 2012. We also provide a critical review of records of Rhinolophus euryale and R. mehelyi from Tunisia, many of which we believe were incorrect. Furthermore, based on this review of past records (some of which are linked to specimens in museums) and information on morphology of specimens, we propose a new synonymy for Rhinolophus (Euryalus) barbarus Andersen et Matschie, 1904 and R. (E.) meridionalis Andersen et Matschie, 1904. Finally, we also present data on echolocation of bats from Tunisia for the first time. Our records are based on visual inspections, captures, searches for dead animals, recording of echolocation calls and examination of museum specimens. Material and Methods Bats were investigated using common techniques such as mist-netting, hand-netting, flip-netting and collection and ob- servations in buildings and underground sites. As many species are difficult to catch but can be recognized well by their echolocation calls (e.g. Walters et al. 2012), we also extensively recorded echolocation calls at night. Forearm length, P4.1 (first phalanx of the fourth finger), P4.2 (second phalanx of the fourth finger), and CM3length ( of upper tooth-row between the canine and third molar, both included) were measured with calipers to the nearest 0.1 mm. Statistical analyses were carried out in R v2.15.2 (R Development Core Team 2012). Prior to running t-tests, normality and homoscedasticity of the data was checked with the Shapiro-Wilk test (function ’ shapiro.test’ in R v2.15.2) and Bartlett test (function ‘bartlett.test’ in R v2.15.2), respectively. Calls were recorded in real time using D1000X ultrasound detectors (Pettersson Elektronik AB, Uppsala, Sweden). Sampling frequency was set to 384 kHz, allowing to records sound up to 192 kHz. Most bats were recorded when free flying or hanging, while a subset was recorded in the hand (mainly Rhinolophus species) or on release. Recordings were then analysed using BatSoundPro software v3.31 (Pettersson Elektronik AB, Uppsala, Sweden). Abbreviations of museum names are as follows: MNHG – Natural History Museum of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; MNHN – National Museum of Natural History, Paris, France; ZMB – Zoological Museum (Museum für Naturkunde), Berlin, Germany; TTU – Texas Tech University Museum, Lubbock, USA. Species List Rhinolophus ferrumequinum (Schreber, 1774) NEW RECORDS. Zaghouan mines, 26 June 2009, 1 adult ♂ captured; 26 July 2012, a colony of minimum 15 inds. observed, 2 ♂♂ captured (1 adult and 1 juvenile). – Carrières les grottes (N of El Haouariya), 23 May 2011, 4 inds. in torpor, 1 adult ♂ observed. – Oued Ain, 24 May 2011, echolocation recordings. – Carrières Fatjun (NW of El Haouariya), 25 May 2011, maternity colony of 15 inds., 1 adult ♀ observed. – El Feidja National Park, 21 July 2012, maternity colony estimated at 300 inds. (with juveniles), 23 inds. (21 adult ♀♀, 1 juvenile ♀ and 1 adult ♂) were observed. – Djebel Gloub Thirane (10 km W of Fernana), 22 July 2012, 1 ind. in a mine and 2 inds. in a cave, all in torpor. – Beni M’tir mine, 23 July 2012, 4 adult ♂♂ captured. – Hôtel des Chênes (near Ain Drahem), 23 July 2012, 2 inds. observed. – Ras Rajel mine, 24 July 2012, 2 inds. observed – Ras Rajel, 24 July 2012, 1 ind. observed in an abandoned house. – Djebel Ressas mine, 25 July 2012, recordings of the species at the mine entrance. 212 RECLASSIFIED RECORD. 6 km west of Nefza and 25 km East of Tabarka on road P7, 11 May 1975, specimen TTU 72263 collected by D. Khadhari and identified asR . mehelyi. Noseleaf characters and size (FA=55 mm) matching R. ferrumequinum, skull not examined. In Tunisia, R. ferrumequinum is known from the entire country except the south (i.e. the Saharan bioclimatic zone). All our current findings fall within the previously described range of the species. Most records published to date were from isolated or hibernating individuals. Our data report on three maternity colonies, one of which (El Feidja NP) is presently the largest maternity colony Fig. 1. Photographs showing Tunisian habitats; (A) Djebel Ressas; (B) Ichkeul; (C, D) Dghoumes; (E) Beni Mtir; (F) Djebel Zaghouan. 213 known for the species in Tunisia. Given the distinct echolocation peak frequency of R. ferrum- equinum in Tunisia (SJP, unpubl. data), the recordings of individuals with the peak frequency of around 85–88 kHz can be attributed without doubt to the species. Morphologically, no obvious difference was observed in the field between Tunisian and European specimens (Fig. 3 A). Rhinolophus hipposideros (Borkhausen, 1797) NEW RECORDS. Pine woodland 5 km NE of Ain Sebaa, 10 September 2004 (data used in Rebelo & Brito 2007 but species record unpublished; H. Rebelo, pers. comm). – Grotte Sidi Amer (NE of El Haouariya), 23 May 2011, 1 ind. observed. – Hôtel des Chênes (near Ain Drahem), 23 July 2012, at least 9 inds. present, 7 observed (2 adult and 3 juvenile ♀♀, 2 adult ♂♂). – Djebel Gloub Thirane (10 km W of Fernana), 22 July 2012, total of 2 inds. in two mines, both in torpor. – Zaghouan mines, 26 July 2012, 1 ind. observed. The species seems to be relatively rare in Tunisia and has been mostly reported from the nor- thernmost part of the country (the humid climatic zone). Similarly to R. ferrumequinum, most published records are from isolated or hibernating individuals, hence our report of the maternity colony in the Hôtel des Chênes represents the first known reproduction